


Sunlight through the Whirlpools

by AdamiEnathos



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), BAMF Uzumaki clan, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Genderfluid Uzumaki Naruto, M/M, Multi, Nagi no Asukara AU(kind of), Other, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Puppy Piles, Redhead! Naruto, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, Uzumaki Clan-centric, Uzumaki Insanity, Uzushio Village, bloodline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2018-12-30 03:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12099399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdamiEnathos/pseuds/AdamiEnathos
Summary: The spirit of the Whirlpools never really faded.In a world where there are survivors of the Uzushiogakure destruction, one Uzumaki Naruto happens to meet a man with hair as red as blood just before his Genin Exams.Little did he know that this encounter would be responsible for changing his life forever.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Uzumaki Chronicles](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11004588) by [Itabane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itabane/pseuds/Itabane). 
  * Inspired by [Stormborn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1877970) by [blackkat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat). 



> Hullo guys~  
> This is the first time I'm posting a fanfic in english, and in the Naruto fandom.  
> I'm not fluent, so please tell me if you find any error.

Once upon a time, there was an eerie village surrounded by the sea. The village of longevity, built in pure marble, gleamed beautifully against the waves.

                                                             ~ x ~

Jinsei stared at the boy in his arms, arching his eyebrow. He and his clansmen had just set their camp near a waterfall, and he was sent to check on the nearest village, which ended up being Konoha. Although a part of his family wasn’t very fond of the Leaf, he didn’t really thought it was worthy to harbor any hate towards their former allies.

While walking through the streets at a lazy pace, just looking at the stores and people, he was only able to see a streak of bright orange before finding his arms full with a child. 

“You shouldn’t run like that in a street, you know? That way you’ll keep bumping in people.” Jinsei said with a smirk. The boy jumped away and glared at him.  _ Cute. He looks like a mad puppy. _

”What’s your name, lad?”

“Tsk.. I’m the great Uzumaki Naruto, and I’ll be the next Hokage! Believe it!” Jinsei blinked..  _ He totally said Uzumaki, didn’t he?  _ He didn’t knew that the Leaf was hosting any Uzumaki after Lady Kushina’s death. To confirm his doubts, he activated the tracking seal in the back of his hand and ruffled the boy’s hair, murmuring a soft “Better work for it then, kiddo.” And laughed at the boy’s scowl. Yeah, the seal definitely warmed up.  _ Her son, perhaps?  _  He had to inform the clan about this. As the kid left, completely ignoring his advice and running like the devil was on his back, he sent a clone to follow discreetly the child and went on his way. 

                                                            ~ x ~ 

_ Oh, how I wish I could record this moment _ . Jinsei thought as he stifled his giggles. Not that the Uzumaki were the most serious and composed clan, quite the opposite actually,  but it was so rare to see everyone so flabbergasted.  Heck, even Elder Najimi looked lost. 

Okay, he understood it. It was thought that after Lady Third and her husband,the uzumaki main line was totally lost, so it was wonderful the simple thought that one of them still being alive.

“Jin-chan.. How does this little Prince of ours look like?” Himari inquired, hopping on the same spot, making the curls of her hair fly around her. It kind of made her look like a child.

“Well, he looks like he’s around 12, so maybe he’s about to become a genin. He got shiny yellow hair, and big blue eyes. He also got some weird markings on his cheeks, like whiskers.” 

“Hah, a blond? I really doubt it will stay like that for long.” Elder Wamiya snorted. 

“Whoever his father is, he probably got some strong genes to actually overpower the Uzumaki cursed hair.” Ame guessed.

“I’m more interest in watching when Katsura get her hands on him. Poor child will be squeezed to death.” Stated Takahiro. Some people chuckled at that. Katsura latched into any child around her, and would probably try to spoil the boy as much as possible.

Jinsei received the memories of his clone being dispelled,and his blood ran cold.

“Jinsei, what happened?” Mai said, furrowing her eyebrows.

“A weird dude tricked him into stealing the Leaf’s Forbidden Scroll, and now he got basically all the chunnin and up ninjas on the hunt for his hide.” He growled.

“ _ What? _ ? What was on this kid’s mind to steal that scroll?” Takahiro took a step back, his eyes wide. 

“ I just said he was tricked to do so, moron. My clone only heard something about a second Genin test, before the guy walked away. We gotta hurry. He’s hiding with the scroll in the woods on the west of the village.”

“Alright. Jin, Mai, Taka, you three go and find him. Protect him, because I doubt those guys will go easy on him to take the scroll back.” Elder Samiji said, hearing a loud “Yes, sir!” as a reply before the three ran out of the camp.

                                                             ~ x ~

Mai’s heart was beating uncontrollably in her chest. They actually found someone from the royal line! Someone to really assume the Uzumaki Clan. But he was young, not even a genin. And she wasn’t sure if they would be able to stay on the village. Would they just have to steal him away then? And if he didn’t want to come? Would he even want to be a part of the clan in the first place?

Sadly enough, when they found the blonde, there was already two chunnin with him.

Mai was preparing to stop them from attacking the child, when she heard the one with white hair talk about how Naruto was the Kyuubi, how he would never be loved, because demons like him only deserved despise and hate, and how everyone, even his teacher, would love to see him die.

**_She.saw.red._ ** _ This bitch just didn’t say that.  _

_“_ Hohoho, you just didn’t said that about him, asshole.” Takahiro’s voice came from her left side. For a second, she had almost forgot they were with her _._

“Who the hell are you three? You are not Leaf Nin, this has nothing to do with you.” The soon-to-be-a-corpse said.

“Damn yeah we aren’t. And we don’t usually give a shit about those little scuffles between outsiders, but you’ve just attacked one of us, mate, so we just  _ had _ to interrupt.”Jinsei replied, his voice cheerful. It sounded terrible forced, like he was grinding his teeth underneath it, and, thinking about it, he probably was.

“You mean the demon? What does this piece of trash has to do with any of you?”

Yeah, this guy is totally meat.

“Well..”She began.“This ‘piece of trash’, as you say, is a relative of ours, you see. So it’s just our job to give you a little.. Punishment, for bullying him.”

“Relative? As if. Everybody knows that this thing has no family. No human being could sire something this foul. It will be a great pleasure to shred it to pieces!” 

_ It will be a great pleasure shred  _ **_you_ ** _ to pieces.  _ Was the thought of the trio. 

Meanwhile, a shell shocked Naruto was repeating Mizuki’s revelation in his head.  _ I’m.. the Kyuubi? _ He thought dazedly. But how could it be? He didn’t have any memory of attacking the village, or being a gigantic demon fox. And yet, all he said about how he was treated and how everyone acted around him suddenly made  _ so much sense _ . All that hate, the despise and even fear, it was all because of this?

He was only half-listening to the conversation happening before him, until the stranger woman said they were his ‘relatives’. He was very much sure he didn’t have any family in Konoha, and nobody knew who his parents were, so how the hell were they related? And ouch, Mizuki’s reply stung.. 

It seemed that it pissed off those who were claiming to be his relatives, for the way the woman twitched.

“Jin, Taka. I’ll deal with this scum myself. Back off.” Her only reply was two muttered

“Aye, ma’am.” before they shushinned and appeared next to Naruto.

“Are any of you injured?” The brown haired one said, looking at the his and Iruka’s direction.

“I’m okay, but Iruka-sensei was hit with one of those huge ass shuriken.” Naruto replied, still stunned.“Who are you guys?”

“Well, I’m Uminoawa Takahiro, but you can just call me Taka.This is Uzumaki Jinsei. And the girl currently giving that jerk a good ass-kicking is Mai.” The brunette said with a cheeky smile.

Naruto blinked. Okay, he definitely heard an Uzumaki there.

“Uzumaki?” He asked dumbfounded.

“Yes. We’ve been looking for you, Naruto-kun.” Said Jinsei. Now looking to him, Naruto realized he knew this one.

“Hey, you’re that guy I bumped on today! And what do you mean looking for me?” He screeched.

“Jinsei here found out you were an Uzumaki, and we’re pretty sure that we know who your mom was.”

Naruto startled. Could they really know who she was? As he was about to ask, a loud snapping sound was heard. 

He looked to the side, and there was the girl -Mai? - Putting down a beaten up Mizuki, who had his arms and legs twisted in an odd way.

“While I think this conversation of yours is nice, I think we will have to stop it for a bit.” She said with a deadpan. 

“Eeh? Why?” Naruto inquired.

Suddenly, six ANBU shushined all around them.

“You four are requested in the Hokage Tower immediately. Come with us without resistance.” Said the one with a bear mask.

“Because of this.” Mai smirked at Naruto.

_ Oh.. Well, that makes sense.  _ Was his only thought.

_                                                              ~ x ~ _

When Naruto invaded his office that afternoon, Hiruzen felt like today would be an spectacular headache.

But  _ damn, _ he had not expected any of this.Standing in front of him were said boy and three outsiders, two of them having the same shade of red hair of Kushina and Lady Mito.

He took a drag out of his pipe, and sighed.

“Well, let’s start with you, Naruto. Why did you stole the forbidden scroll?” He said.

The boy smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

”Well gramps, after I failed the test, Mizuki appeared and said that if I stole it and learned a jutsu, I could graduate. So I did it.” Naruto said with a blush on his face.

“A make-up test, huh? Well, did you succeed in learning a jutsu?” The Hokage asked.

“Believe it! Now I can do the Kage Bunshin! It’s way easier than the academy clone.” The blond replied grinning. The old Hokage arched his brow, slightly dubious. 

“Would you mind showing me your prowess in it then, my boy?”

The blond straightened his back, and made a show of forming a cross with his fingers. ‘ _ The shortened hand-sign already? How precocious.’ _

_ “ _ **_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!_ ** _ ”  _ The boy yelled, and suddenly the room was filled with orange.

_ ‘Holy shit.’  _ Sarutobi could just stare in awe at the sheer amount of clones, who were all staring at him with the smuggest expression ever.”How is that, Gramps??” The one who seemed to be the original said.   

“Well, since you clearly managed it, it’s only fair to grant you the genin rank. I’m very proud of you, Naruto.” 

And saying that before the boy dispelled the clones might have been a bad idea. The noise of the dozens of clones cheering was more than enough to make his ears hurt. He waited until the boy calmed down a bit, and dispelled the clones. This distraction over, he turned to the outsiders.

“Now, about you three.. Who are you, and what are you doing in Konoha?” He inquired.

“W-well sir, we..” The brown haired one was interrupted by the sound of the door to his office being opened.

The Hokage gawped. Sweet lord, he must be hallucinating. What on earth was on his pipe?

“You are not hallucinating, monkey.” Said the old woman who had just entered the room.

“Elder Najimi.” said the three outsiders, bowing to the woman.

She nodded at them, before turning to the old Kage.

“Long time no see, Hiruzen. I almost expected you would already be dead.” She said with a smirk.

“How on earth are  _ you _ alive, Najimi? Uzushio was destroyed three decades ago.” He said baffled.

“ You know very well that our kind is difficult to kill, monkey. There are plenty of us, we just know how to stay hidden.” Najimi replied, winking at him.

“And you decided to come out now? Why?”

“Well, we weren’t at first, but while one of mine was fooling around your village, he found something very interesting. I didn’t know little Kushina-chan had an offspring.” She said slyly.

“Kushina? Who’s that?” Came the voice of the blond. The reaction was instantaneous. All the four Uzumakis bristled, staring at him with disbelief.

Najimi straightened her back, and if looks could kill, he knew that no one would ever be able to find his ashes.

“Saru-chaan~ Could you tell me why he doesn’t seem to know his own mother’s name?” The dangerous aura the old woman emitted, coupled with a sickening sweet tone, were enough to make the Sandaime feel sweat drip from his face.

“Mother? You know who my mom was?” The young jinchuuriki screeched again, this time at Sarutobi. 

The Hokage sighed. This was not going to be pretty.

“Yes Naruto-kun, I do.” He said.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!? I’ve been asking for years if you had any idea of who my parent were, and you always said you had no idea!” The boy looked simultaneously hurt and mad. Time to incorporate the Grandfather Aura™.

“I had to keep it a secret. Both your parents had many enemies, and if it was discovered they had a child, you would be hunted by them. It was for your own good.” He said as softly as he could, trying to sound reassuring.

“ And you had to keep a secret even from me? All I ever wanted was to know if my parents ever wanted me. You didn’t even need to have said their names! Just saying something about them would have been enough!” Oh sweet Log, the kid was crying.  _ Damage control, now! _

“ I’m so sorry, my boy. I was just trying to protect you. I planned on telling you the truth after you made chunnin, so you could protect yourself. But it seems that I’ll have to anticipate it. You will have to take a photo for your ninja ID this week, so when you do, I will take my time to tell you about your parents.” 

“You promise?” Naruto sobbed, trying to brush off his tears with his hand.

“I do. And you know I never would break a promise.” Crisis averted. Najimi then took lead, and turned to the younger people in the room.

“Children, would you please wait on the outside? I have some matters to discuss with the Hokage alone.” She said.

“Yes ma’am.” The older three replied, before the redhead boy picked Naruto up, who was too shook to fight against it, and the four left the office.

Najimi sighed and sat on the chair in front of his desk.

“Look, I’m going to be honest with you, Saru. I want permission for the Uzushio refugees to install themselves in your village.” She said, staring at his eyes.

“We were allies before Uzushio’s fall in the 3rd war, and your village has some great debts toward us. Besides, I don’t think our newly found Prince would want to leave this village. Not that I think you would want us taking your little jinchuuriki away.”

_ So she noticed it,huh? As expected from an Uzumaki. _

“Indeed I would not. Naruto is a valuable resource to Konoha, and his legacy is too important. It will be hard to appease the council if I do this, so you better help me out. Besides the old allies speech, I’ll need to make it sound inviting to them.” Hiruzen said.

“We could always threaten to steal your jinchuuriki. All the three of your demon vessels were Uzumaki, the latest one, Kushina, being given to you as a way to show friendship. We are in our rights to take your current vessel with us, for both his blood and the way the bijuu was sealed belongs to us.” she deadpanned.” And don’t even let me start on how accepting our support here would help your village.”

“I guess the argument on the jinchuuriki behalf will be more than enough. They may hate Naruto’s guts, but they know how much a demon container is valuable.” He said amused. “Now, how many of you are there?”

“Around five-hundred. A bit more, a bit less.”

“ F-five hundred?!? In the name of the holy log, how so many of your kind survived?” Hiruzen asked in shock. The simple thought of so many Uzumaki in his village was enough to give him nightmares. Konoha was a big village, more than five thousand civilians and ninja, and usually such an addition to their numbers wouldn’t be too troublesome, but with them being Uzumaki, he feared for his village.

“We have our tricks, Hiruzen. Now, do you have somewhere where we can start building a compound big enough? Vacant training grounds or something like that? We can take care ourselves of the construction, so you just need to worry about the space.” Najimi replied.

“ I believe that I know place that will be enough, but it’s a bit isolated.” The Kage said, pensive. After the Uchiha Massacre, nobody wanted to live nearby the old compound, so a lot of unoccupied space was left behind it.

“We lived on a island surrounded by whirlpools, Hiruzen. I believe we can deal with isolated.” She snorted.

Now, the only problem was how to exactly tell Naruto everything. Sarutobi took a drag out of his pipe and sighed. He knew this was going to be a long night.


	2. The Sun finds Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little warning: I recommend you re-read the first chapter, because a: I edited it, to make a smoother reading, and b: because and don't post in wayy to long, so you might not remember the story.. sowwy TyT

Naruto couldn’t even protest while being carried around like a sack of potatoes, his mind stuck in a haze.

_ Why would Jiji hide his parents identity from him?  _ They might have had many enemies, so it was fine wanting to hide it from everyone else, but to keep a secret even from their child?

“Are you okay, mate?” Naruto shook his head, trying to focus on what was happening now. 

The redhead he bumped in earlier today - _ Jinsei, the other said - _ inquired.

“I’m fine, I guess. Just.. Too many stuff happening in one day..” He muttered, faking a smile. 

“Yeah, we know that feeling.” Jinsei muttered, averting his eyes.  

“So.. You really didn’t know about your mum, huh?” The brown-haired one stated awkwardly. “So I guess you don’t know much about the clan either, right?”

“There is a clan? Where?!? I never heard anything about an Uzumaki clan!” Naruto replied, gawping. 

“That is because the Uzumaki clan is not a part of Konoha. We are from a small hidden village called Uzushiogakure no Sato.” The girl began. “Well, at least, we were.” She sounded pained at the thought.

“What do you mean?” Interrupted the blond, leaning foward.

Jinsei sighed,dragging his hand over his nape before explaining. “Around 30 years ago, Uzushio was destroyed. We were not a big village, but our ninja were powerful enough that some of the bigger villages, especially Kiri and Iwa, were afraid of our power. They made an alliance, and attacked Uzushio. In the end, they won the war, and the survivors went hiding. The three of us are from group of refugees that went hiding after the war. ”

It took some time to Naruto properly process that information. He had a clan. A real family. There had been a whole village, and even after it was destroyed, they persisted and kept  living on.

He felt a  _ little  _ overwhelmed.

“Y-you said something about my mother.. Her name was Kushina? You guys knew her?” He inquired, eager to learn as much information as possible. 

“Sorry, we didn’t get to know her. She was sent to Konoha years before we were born.” Jinsei apologized. “Najimi-sama knew her, though. You can ask her later.”

“Thanks..” 

An awkward silence was installed, no one knowing exactly what to say. Naruto shifted uncomfortably on his seat, trying to think of something to break the ice.

Not that it was needed. After a few moments, the door to the hokage’s office was open, and the elder woman - _ Najimi, Naruto.. Her name is Najimi - _ called them back to the room.

“Alright, children _.  _ Old Saru and I discussed, and it was decided that we’ll be allowed to live in the village. We are going to talk properly about where to build a proper compound later. For now, we will be staying at the camp.” The woman announced.

Naruto’s heart began beating crazily in his chest.  _ They’re going to stay in the village? _ He felt like crying in joy. The trio also seemed excited, with Mai hopping from one feet to the other, and Takahiro and Jinsei doing a high-five.

“Naruto-kun.” Spoke the Hokage, directing the blond’s attention to him. “If you wish, you may stay with them at their camp. Better get used to your clan sooner than later.”

The blond felt his heart swell. He would get to live with his family!

“Najimi, I will look for a space inside the village walls for your clan to stay. Where did you set up the current camp?” The Kage inquired, looking in the old woman’s direction.

“We’re by a river that comes from the east side of your village. I don’t have idea what is it’s name, though.” The woman chuckled.

“The one with a waterfall? Or the one which passes by the woods?” Sarutobi asked, raising his left eyebrow.

“The waterfall one, sir. We’re just by it.” Takahiro replied.

“Very well then. Tomorrow, after I finish setting things up, I’ll go there to properly meet our new villagers.” He took a drag out of his pipe and sighed.”Now, for the sake of my nerves, go back to your camp.. I’ll try to finish this off as soon as possible.”

“As you wish, old monkey. Try to not drown yourself in sake, got it?” Najimi cackled, eyes twinkling with malice.

Sarutobi only response was a deep sigh which made Naruto giggle.  _ Ah, I can only imagine how much those old council hags will nag Jiji about this. The poor guy. _

They left the office, closing the door behind them. Two seconds later, a constant  _ thump-thump-thump  _ was heard.

“He’s totally beating his head in the desk, isn’t he?” Jinsei asked, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Naruto just nodded, with Najimi saying a  _ “You can bet your ass he is!” _ that almost made him choke. This had to be the best old hag that he had ever met.

“Alright, you maggots. Let’s go back to the camp before it gets too late. You guys know how those people get when they have to wait for too long.” Najimi clapped her hands, before turning on his direction. “I’m sure everyone is anxious to meet you, Naruto.” She said, laying her eyes on the blond.

Naruto’s was sweating. He hadn’t felt this insecure since his first day in the academy. 

Would his family like him? Or would they find him weird, just like the rest of the village?

“I-I’m excited about meeting them too, ma’am.” He answered, trying to be polite. 

“Oh, I’m not having any of that, shrimp. Just call me Grandma or some shit like that. I don’t like those formalities between family unless we’re in place where we are supposed to be formal.” Najimi frowned, before raising her left hand and rubbing Naruto’s hair. 

“Look kiddo, I know this must be really confusing for you, with discovering living relatives and all, but chill, okay? I think you’ll fit in just fine, so there is no need to be worried.”

_ Easier said than done, Grandma _ . Was Naruto’s thought.

The group made their way through the village, the older ninja doing their best to avoid the crowded areas.

\-------------------x--------------------

_ Ok, that’s some big ass camp.  _ Naruto stared at the makeshift walls near the waterfall. 

Just how many people were living in there?

When thinking about a clan, Naruto thought there would be, like, two or three families wearing similar clothes, or something like that, but from the sheer size of the camp, it seemed that there were way more than that.

And  _ no, the thought of it did  _ **_not_ ** _ freeze Naruto’s insides, what are you talking about? _

“Haha, you’re sweating buckets, blondie.” Takahiro cackled, a grin decorating his face. This earned a slap at the back of his head, courtesy of one Mai, who rolled her eyes and told him to stop bullying the new kid.

Usually, he would just retort the comment or scream at the other, but right now? Naruto felt as if he wouldn’t be able to say anything at all. 

“Naruto-chan, just take a deep breath and try to act naturally. We’re not the standard of ‘common’, so there is no need to fear about people finding you unusual.” Mai said with a gentle smile. 

“I just.. Don’t want them to dislike me, ya know?” Naruto said hesitant, scratching the back of his head. 

“The only way they would not like you was if you were a stuck-up brat, so you’re cool.” Takahiro said, patting him on the shoulder, before throwing an arm around Jinsei’s shoulder. 

“Hey Jin, come on, say something to ease the kids fears! Out of us, you’re the only one with experience on the whole ‘Meeting the Family’ theme.” That caught Naruto’s attention.

Just as Naruto was about to ask what the brunette meant, Najimi appeared at the entrance of the camp, a hand on her waist.

“Are you four planning to stay out there all night? There’s a party waiting for you inside, you know?” She said, arching an eyebrow.

Naruto startled. Just how long did he spent freaking out? 

“Wohoo, party!! C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!!” Takahiro was jumping excitedly, pushing the others to the camp.

“We’re already starting with a party? This way we will only scare the poor kid.” Jinsei shook his head.

“Too late to worry about this.. Welcome, Naruto, to the Uzushio Camp.” Najimi said solemnly, spreading her arms as if to hug the whole camp.

Now, Naruto would like to say that his first thoughts were poetic, about how he felt that those were his people. But really? The first thing that came to his mind was simple ‘Holy shit, those are a lot of colors.’ 

Although most of them had a vibrant red hair, there were also different shades of pink and blue and purple and oh my god, they were all staring at him.

_ ‘What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!?!’ _ Naruto thought frenetically. ‘ _ Those three said to act naturally, right? Then I’ll just..’ _

“H-Hey there!! I am Uzumaki Naruto! It’s nice to meet’cha ‘ttebayo!” He said boisterous.  _ ‘Ya fucked up, bro!! _ Literally no one likes it when we act like that!!’  _ Too late.. _

But most of them seemed to find it amusing, and an someone in the back yelled back a “HEY! I’m Hirohito! Welcome to the party!!” to which everyone cheered, before everyone seemed to talk over each other with warm welcomes.

_ ‘Yup, they seem like a happy bunch..’  _ Was Naruto’s though before a lady with a pretty, pretty red hair came into his view.

“Hello.. Naruto-kun, is that it?” He nodded, hesitant. “I’m Katsura, and I will be your governess. I’ll be responsible of teaching you the Uzu ways. I hope we will be able to get along well.” She said kindly, her voice sound sweetly in his ears. He gave her a honest smile.

“I hope so, Katsura-san!” He said happily. He really wanted to get along with them as much as possible.

There was a small mutter on the crowd of ‘Sunshine’ before the woman squirmed, seeming shy, before looking at him.

“Would you mind if I.. hugged you?” She sounded hesitant, as if she didn’t know if her question would be welcome.

And said question brought tears into Naruto’s eyes.. Someone actually wanted to hug him? He could remember every single hug he ever got in his life.. All three of them were Jiji’s at his birthdays, ever since he met the man. Otherwise, people just tried their best to not touch him in any way. He wiped his tears and smiled back at her, opening his arms and saying a weak “Sure!”

Katsura rushed at it, squeezing as hard as she was able without hurting him.. He hugged back just as enthusiastic, and heard a soft “Welcome Home, sweetie.” being whispered in his ear.

The tears flooded his eyes again.. Yeah, it seems that he had just found a new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H-Hewwo?? Is anybody still willing to read this fic?   
> *bows*   
> I'm deeply sorry for the time without any update! But my studies, and then me procrastinating on vacations didn't let me write this as much as possible..  
> Also, I'm super duper happy at how many people actually read this fic.. It brought me so much joy~


	3. Swirling Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haaay  
> Look who's back~  
> As you already know, please warn me if you see any mispelling or errors, please.  
> And Katsura is my baby and I'll protect her. Actually, all the OC's I created for this fic are my babies..

If anyone asked Naruto what he remembered about that party, his only answer would be “ It was pure mayhem.” His memories were kind of blurry, with so much going on around him, but he remembered groups of people dancing in a different fashion, twisting their bodies and clapping hand and stomping feet to the music. It seemed like a lot of fun.. And then one of the woman dancing pulled him into it and  _ god, he did not know how to dance, thank you very much.  _ But it was fun trying (and failing) to imitate her moves. 

And, for some reason, he remembered doing the Oiroke while trying to dance, and as he was almost regretting it, the laughter of both men and women around him made him feel at ease. His partner turning into a hot guy may have helped, though.

Now, as he stepped out of one of the tents, he reflected that yes, his new family did seem like a cool bunch. From what he had seen, no one looked too stiff or prone to take things way too seriously.. He would fit in just fine.

“Naruto.” He turned around to see Grandma Najimi and Katsura calling him.  

“Good Morning!” He answered, walking up to them.

“Good Morning, sweetie.” Katsura said affectionate, petting his hair. Ah yes, that was his favorite part.. No one here seemed to view touching him as a bad thing. It was a relief to him that no one seemed disgusted or afraid here.. But maybe it was because no one knew about the Fox yet. But neither Jinsei or Mai or Takahiro had reacted badly to that fact.. It made him confused.

“Naruto.. Today, I’ll be off with Saru to search for a place where we can build our own compound.” Said Najimi, aqua green eyes staring right at him. “Katsura here will be responsible for you. She will teach you all you need to know as an Uzumaki, so do your best to learn it well, okay?” She continued with a small smile. Naruto nodded vehemently. He would do his best to learn as much as possible about his family. Grandma smiled at that, before walking in the direction of the village.

“So, what will we be doing?” He asked, turning around to face Katsura.

“Well, to begin, we will go to the dining place at the center of the camp to have breakfast. Then I will explain to you about the clan’s origins, about Uzushio and some of our traditions.. After that, I’ll let you play around with the other kids for a while, before we go back to studying.” With the gleam in her eyes and the chirpy way she said this, she seemed way too happy about spending hours teaching him stuff. He seriously hoped those would be better than the history classes in the academy, because damn, those lectures were boring.

“I see.. Well, let’s go eat, then! I'm starving. Do you have instant ramen in here?” He was almost drooling at the thought.

Katsura’s lips were pressed in a thin line.

“No way, young man. The key to a good day is to start with a healthy meal. Those instant ramens don’t have all the nutrients someone your age needs.” Her voice was stern.

“Eeh.. But I basically only eat ramen and I’m healthy as a horse!” He whined, offended by her blatant disrespect to the ramen.

“But sweetie, why don’t you cook something healthier? Surely only eating ramen must be tiring..”  _ What a heathen..  _ To Naruto, it was impossible to get tired of Ramen. Besides..

“I don’t really know how to cook, ya know? No one ever taught me, and ingredients are too expensive, so I basically live on cup ramen and milk..” He scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed. But it was not his fault food was pricey. The only place that wasn’t at a bad price for him was Ichiraku’s, that holy place.

Katsura really didn’t like hearing that. Her purple eyes were narrow, and the frown in her face reminded him of some of the adults in the village.. Was she mad at him?? Disappointed that he didn’t try more? 

“A-Ah, but I do know how cook thing like mushrooms and stuff! I used to eat them all the time when I would hunt for food in the woods!” He tried to remedy, saying as fast as he could. Hunting was good, right? It didn’t make he look lazy, so it had to be a good thing..

She seemed to notice his distress. 

“Oh.. That’s good, then.. Come on, I’ll teach you how to cook a good breakfast. We have our own ingredients, so we can make a good, fulfilling meal without any worries, okay?” She said, her eyes turning light and cheery again. He tentatively smiled. It seemed that her anger was gone, but he still felt some uneasiness flowing out of her, so he decided to just nod and say a meek “okay”.

She lead him to toward the camp’s center. There, various circular stone tables were spread all around the space, a few of them full with people playing around, chatting and eating. There were some people curled up in their seats, though, looking dead to the world.

As they walked toward the big cabin in the center, most of them would turn around and say “Good Morning” in different levels of cheerfulness.

The greeting made him feel warm inside. It was so, so different from how the village reacted when he walked around. It felt really nice.. By the time they reached the cabin, he found himself with a dumb grin splayed on his face.

“In

Inside the cabin, there was a big kitchen, with big cabinets and a big load of fruits.

Katsura went to one of the fridges and opened it, picking up an stack of eggs, a block of cheese, and some ham. 

“Can you get the milk in the fridge at your left while I get the flour and the salt, please?” She told him. He nodded and went to get the milk. When he opened the fridge, his mouth began to salivate. He never saw a fridge this full before.. He almost dropped a tear at the beauty of the sight before him. He picked up one of the milk boxes and went back to the table.

Katsura picked up a bowl and started cracking the eggs in it.

“So, Naruto-chan, we will be making an omelette today. It is a good way to start the day, and it’s really easy to make.” Then, she began to explain all the steps of making a good omelette, mixing the eggs, adding flour and milk, then cutting the cheese and the ham in small cubes and adding them to the mix as well. He was watching mesmerized at the way she was cooking, until she put the bowl in the table again and gave a little slap to her own forehead.

“Dumb me, I almost forgot the green onion..”She tsk’ed, and went back to the fridge, before coming back with a pack of leaves.  coming back with a pack. Naruto felt sweat drip of his temple.  _ Please God, not veggies!  _ She seemed to notice his distaste.

“What, you don’t like a bit of green in your meals?” Voice light with amusement, she had a grin splayed in her face. He shook his head as fast as he could, a string of ‘No no no’s coming out of his mouth. A laugh broke out of Katsura’s lips. 

“Don’t worry. I assure you it will be tasty.” She said, as she sliced and added the green onions into the egg mixture. 

She walked to the oven and picked up a pan, melted a bit of butter in it, and started cooking the omelettes.

“Now, Naruto dear, pay attention. The moment it cooks enough, you be able to move it around the pan. It’s how you know when to flip the omelette.” She said, showing him the way the omelette unsticked from the pan’s bottom. She flipped it over, waiting a while, and took the pan out of the fire.

“Pick two plates in the green cabinet for me, please?” She asked, pointing towards a small cabinet besides one of the fridges. He muttered a “Sure!” and went towards the cabinet.

After he picked up a pair of pretty yellow plates, he went back to Katsura, who then put an omelette on each. They walked back outside, where she picked the nearest table, and they sat down.

“Go on!” She said with a big grin in her face, gesturing her hands toward the food in his plate. He made the usual thanks for the food, and ate a small piece of the omelette. He widened his eyes, feeling as if he could cry.  _ Holy shit, this is so good, what the hell?  _ Even the cursed green bits didn’t taste bad, their flavor only enhancing the delicious taste of the omelette.

Katsura looked at him, a smirk on her lips.

“So.. Is it good?” Although she was asking it, it was clear in her eyes that she already knew the answer. He just nodded enthusiastically and went back to eating his breakfast, taking big bites of his food. She laughed at the response and started eating her own breakfast.

After they were both well-fed, took him back to the tent where he’d slept in.sat down on one of the futons, and she turned back to him.

“Now, Naruto-kun.. Did you learn anything about Uzushiogakure in the Academy?” He tried to remember.. He slept on most of the history lectures, but, from what little he could recall, no one ever mentioned anything related to the Uzumaki. He shook his head at her.

Katsura sighed, running her hand through her hair.  _ Of course  _ Konoha would do it’s best to forget about them. It would taint their perfect record, after all. 

 

“Alright, sweetie. Let’s start from the beginning then.” Katsura began, and Naruto straightened up, giving the redhead all his attention. “Centuries ago, in the island we like to call ‘Homeland’, the people of land and sea began to merge. You see, back then, in the sea around the island, there was a small village living under the water. All the villagers were what the people from the land called Ayakashi, human-like creatures that could breathe underwater with the help of a extra layer of skin. No one knows how it started, but these species began to interact more and more, and soon hybrids were born, with skin to breathe underwater and lungs to breathe on the surface.”

“Woah..” Naruto breathed, eyes wide and gleaming. “That sounds  _ so cool!  _ But, how does it connect to this Uzushio?” He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Katsura chuckled. “It’s the very beginning of the village, my dear. Those hybrids began to come into the mainland, interacting with the humans that lived on the shore. It was then that they came in contact with the Senju clan. They were one of the first clans with developed chakra paths, and so, when a few of them married some of the islanders, the Uzumaki Clan as we know was born. Of course, the Uzumakis weren’t the only clan in the island, and so the ability to wield chakra spreaded through the whole Land of Whirlpools. Years later, the village leader at the time, Lord Ashina, met two men who wanted to end the war between their families. They were Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. The three of them decided to build villages made specifically for ninjas, where different clans could live together, and so Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure were born. Because of this, and the way our villages were always connected, they were considered sister villages.So, it was not uncommon to trade ninja or for a person to change between the two of them. For an example, in the very beginning, one of our princesses, Lady Mito, married Hashirama, who was now the First Hokage.” She finished.

“Whaa.. I didn’t know any of that. It sounds so cool!! But hey, if you had Konoha on your side, how did the village get destroyed?” Katsura winced slightly at the question. ‘ _ Better teach him the subtle art of having tact, as well.’  _ She sighed, the air around her turning somber. 

“Well Naruto, first, let’s talk about why we were attacked in the first place, okay?” The blond boy nodded. “All villages have arts that they teach only to their own ninja, and Uzushio was not different. We created and developed our Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing. Seal are complex and dangerous, but if done right, they hold an incredible amount of power. Although we were a rather peaceful village, there was still people that either feared us, or wanted to steal our techniques. Most of them tried to attack alone, and all of them failed. We were too strong, and so those villages, both small and big,were enraged enough to form an alliance and attack us. We tried to ask help from Konoha, but no reply, affirmative or negative, was ever received. We don’t know if the messenger was taken down before arriving, or something else, but I personally like to hope that Konoha never received said letter. The people from this camp were only able to escape because we always kept our abilities to survive underwater unknown to outsiders. When all the hope was lost, the few survivors sealed away everything in the libraries and archives, and jumped into the sea. Probably, the invasors thought we were all committing suicide or something like that, and we used this to swim as far away from the island as possible. And so, for the last 30 years, we’ve been moving from a place to another, so no one notice us, and we could keep living. That’s it, until we found you.”  

“Me?” Naruto blinked, a blush spreading through his face.

Katsura chuckled softly in her hand. “Yes, darling. You’re an important resource for Konoha, so they will do their best to keep you in the village, even if it means they will have to accept us as one of their clans.”

“Resource? I have no idea what this means.. Why would I be one of those?” The blond frowned, squeezing his eyes shut and pouting. Katsura sighed at the question.

“In a simple way, it means you’re useful to this village. As your village’s Jinchuuriki, you’re valuable. Although Konoha is in peace for now, wars always come, and having one of your kind usually is one of the biggest differences between winning and losing.” She explained, paying attention to the boy’s reaction.

“Jinchuki? What is that?” He seemed even more lost, his eyes nothing but squinted lines as he tried to make sense of what she’d said. What she said was basically that he was strong, right? 

_ They didn’t even tell him that? What on the demon’s bright hell are you thinking, Konoha? _ Katsura sweatdropped. _ What have they been teaching these children? _

“ _ Jinchuuriki  _ is how the people who have a chakra construct known as a Tailed Beast sealed inside their bodies are called. It means, roughly, ‘Power of Human Sacrifice’. A well-trained Jinchuuriki can wield to a certain extent the power of the beast inside them, and this make them dangerous and valuable.” She said solemnly. “I trust you already knew about the Bijuu inside you?” The question came out more threatening than it was meant to. The way the village seemed to omit such an important information for the boy was getting on her nerves.

The blond cringed almost imperceptibly, pressing his lips together and frowning. 

“Yeah, I found out yesterday..” Katsura’s hands closed on tight fists, her eyes narrowing. “Mizuki-sensei.. Wait, I shouldn’t call him sensei anymore..  _ Mizuki _ told me last night, but Iruka-sensei said it was against the law to talk about it.” The boy seemed depressed to talk about this.  _ God, I hate having to talk about these dark themes with children.. They always look so sad. _

“What I don’t get is.. He said that  _ I _ was the demon fox, that the Yondaime had sealed  _ me _ away in this form. Am I what, a demon myself?”  _ Were the others right all the time?  _ He doesn’t voice this thought.

“Oh dear..” Katsura scooted closer to the blond, holding his chin with her hand and lifting it up.”Look at me, honey. You are not a demon. Don’t ever even think of that. You are perfectly normal child, you only got a.. little bit more. But there is nothing wrong with that, so don’t beat yourself up over it, okay?”

“Got it.” Naruto smiled, eyes squinted in relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Hey~Thank you for reading~  
> Please, tell me your opnions about the chapter and the story so far in the comments!


	4. Chapter 4

“So, you guys were really powerful, huh? It’s a pity it all was destroyed..” Naruto said, rubbing his chin. Katsura chuckled.

“Not  _ were _ , darling. We  _ are _ powerful. We might not have been able to stop the invasion, but it was not because of weakness. And we made sure to not leave anything worthy for them to find, so all the knowledge we had back then is still alive with us.  _ Uzushio  _ is still alive, and it will always be as long as there is even one of us to pass along the spirit of it.” She said, voice strong and certain. Naruto could feel how she completely believed what she was saying. It felt..different, the loyalty and love echoing on her tone. He had only heard Jiji speak with such adoration, when he was talking about the village and why he became Hokage.

“Oh..” The blond breathed. “This is really cool,ya know? To not give up like that!” He said, smiling as wide as he could. 

“Of course! The pure Essence of the Whirlpool is to never give up no matter what. Even though it might hurt, and it seems like all hope is lost, you keep going, for the sake of a brighter future. Do you understand?” Katsura said, a smile on her face.

“Yeah! To not give up no matter what.. It’ll be my new ninja way!!” He exclaimed, clenching his right hand into a fist. Katsura laughed and ruffled his hair.

“That’s the way, kid.” She said.

Before she had a chance to say something else, a man hurried into the tent.

“Katsura, ol’ Najimi’s callin’ you.” His accent was way heavier than any he had ever heard before. 

“Oh boy, what is it now?” She sighed, rising up from the floor and stretching.

“Heh, she didn’ say. But comin’ from our glorious ol’ bat, I don’ expect for you ta come back soon.” The man then snickered at the new sigh that left the woman’s mouth.

“Alright.. Naruto,dear, do you mind going to play with the other children for now? Before going to Lady Najimi, I will see if I can get someone to continue answering your questions.” Katsura said, turning towards the boy.

“Huh? Oh, okay, sure!” Naruto answered. “Where should I..?”

“I saw de kids hangin’ out around de waderfall jus’ now.” The man said, pointing backwards with his thumb.

“Thank you, Taiga. Where is Lady Najimi?” Katsura turned to the man.

“She wen’ ta de Hokage Tower. Knowin’ her, you’ll probably ge’ stuck doin’ her paperwork.” Katsura winced.

“Why did I agree to this job again?” Katsura sighed, before ruffling Naruto’s hair. “Let’s go, dear. I’ll leave you with the kids.”

“Oh, okay!” He jumped from his spot, uttering a goodbye to Taiga before following her out of the tent.

Not far away from the tent where they were, he saw a group of children playing around the waterfall.

He suddenly felt nervous. Sure, he was getting along fine with Katsura, and the people around him didn’t seem against his presence, but children? From his experience, children were cruel. What if they find him weird?

“Naruto? Are you okay?” Katsura put her hand on his shoulder, tilting her head to look at his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine! Just a little nervous..”

“Worried about the kids?” She asked.

“Yeah.. What if they don’t like me?” He inquired, looking shyly at her.

“You don’t need to worry, dear. Sure, some of them are rough, but they’re good kids. You will fit in soon enough.” She said, petting his hair. He leaned just a bit into her touch, trying to make himself believe what she said.

She guided him towards the kids. A little girl with short red hair and a big bow tied to her head noticed them coming and yelled.

“Katsura-saaan~ You brought the new kid!!” She was waving her hand in the air, greeting them while running towards their direction..

“Ah, Suiro. Good to see you, dear. “ She said, petting the girl’s hair. “Naruto, this is Suiro. I need to leave so he’ll show you around, okay?” 

“Oh, sure..It’s nice to..”Wait. Wait.. WAIT..”Wait a second! You’re a  _ boy?!? _ ”

Both the boy - really, what - and Katsura laughed.

“Yup, that’s me, Uzumaki Suiro, the prettiest boy you will ever meet. Naruto, right? Come on, I’ll introduce you to the others.” He ran towards the other children, dragging Naruto by his arm. He heard Katsura yell a “Have fun, kids!” before the woman body-flickered away. 

They stopped in front of the bunch of children, who had all grouped up in the same spot.  _ Oh yikes.. _

Suiro was jumping up and down, pointing his finger at different people and profering names like Nejire, Shizuku and Umi. Naruto stepped forward, waving his arms and saying:

“Wait wait wait, I can’t keep up with this many names and faces so fast. Let’s slow down, okay?” Suiro paused and tilted his head at him, before perking up again and dragging him towards of of the other kids.

“Alright, so let’s go slow. This here is Mifune. Fuyuki and him are the oldest, so we usually obey them.” He said, pulling a tall boy with bright red hair tied in a ponytail towards them. Naruto’s attention were drawn towards his eyes.

“ _ Cool!! _ Your eyes have like, two colors mixed up in them!It looks so  _ awesome! _ ” Naruto jumped  towards the boy, leaning in to look closer at the redhead’s eyes.

“Haha, thanks! It’s pretty common in here, actually. Is it uncommon in Konoha?” He asked, tilting his head in question.

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it! And, in general, all your hair colors are new around here too!” Naruto replied, scratching the back of his neck. “I mean, there is this girl, Sakura, who has pink hair, but the color is way lighter than what I have seen around the camp.”

“Good to know. Now, if someone stares at us, at least we know the reason.” A pink-haired girl said from his left.

“Alright, alright, let’s keep going with the names.” Suiro said, waving his arms and jumping in front of Naruto.

He pointed towards another redhead, who looked really like the girly boy. “This is Fuuko, also known as my twin sister who doesn’t accept that nail polish is a sacred thing.” The girl just dug her elbow on her brother’s ribs, before smiling towards Naruto and saying a simple ‘Hey.’

Naruto replied with a simple ‘Nice to meet you’.

“Look, blondie, don’t let this one boss you around, okay? Or you will be walking around in a skirt in no time.” She said, leaning on her side, a hand on her waist.

The blonde didn't really know if she was being serious or not, but decided to just nod at her.

“Stop spoiling my fun, woman.” Suiro said, elbowing her ribs back, before they started trading punches and kicks on the ground.

“Ignore them, they do this all the time.” A girl with long white hair said, walking to him. “I’m Shizuku, and this is Yuriko.” A blond girl waved at him from behind her. “She doesn’t like to talk, so I usually do the job for her.”

Naruto nodded. He would try to remember it.

A girl with short, bright pink hair came next.

“I’m Momo, nice to meet you! If you know any good place to get some candy in this village, show me all of them later, okay?” She said, winking at him. Naruto chuckled and nodded at her.

She smiled brightly, until, she was knocked oh the back of her head by a girl with dark teal hair and eyes that looked like a clash of purple and pink.

“You shouldn’t eat so many sweets, dummy. It will kill you one day.”  The girl stepped forward and turned towards him. “Don’t enable her, okay? She has no self-preservation. I’m Umi. I’m this airhead best friend. Welcome to the clan.”

“Thank you.” Naruto said, smiling at her. A petite dark-skinned girl walked towards him. Naruto noticed her eyes were bicoloured, just like Mifune’s and Umi’s.

“Hello. I’m Himemiko. It is my pleasure to welcome you into this camp.” She bowed to him formally. 

“A-Ah, you don’t need to act so formal, -ttebayo!” Naruto stuttered, unused to someone acting so respectfully with towards him.

“Hah, don’t mind it. Miko-chan just prefers to be formal. If she is not acting overly formal, then you should run away, because she's  _ pissed. _ ” Shizuku leaned over to him and said.

“Got it.” Naruto nodded at her, before turning to the last girl. This one was the tallest among them, curly, poofy hair, a barely visible hue of sea green in it.

“Heya! I’m Fuyuki. Tell me if one of the others start bugging you, okay? I’ll put them on track.” She said, earning a ‘Hey!’ coming from the battling twins, who stopped their squabble and jumped to her.

“No fair! We want to have fun with him.” Suiro said, puffing his cheeks.

“Remember, shrimps. If he says no to something..” Fuyuki began.

“It means no, and we shouldn’t try to force him.” They said in unison, letting their bodies sag.

“Good.” Fuyuki nodded. “Now, tell us a bit about you.” She said, turning to Naruto.

“Oh! I’m Naruto. I’ve been living in Konoha since always, really. And Granny Najimi said my mom was called Kushina?” Naruto said, before tilting slightly his at the question.

“Oh yeah, I remember Mommy told me Princess Kushina was sent to the Leaf.” Momo said, hitting her fist to the palm of her hand in a ‘Got It’ motion.

Yuriko started waving her hands oddly, gesturing towards him.

“She said your chakra feels different.” Shizuku translated. “I can feel it too. It’s feels like ours in the surface, but the deeper you go, it gets more.. Animalistic? Like a wild beast. Are you a jinchuuriki of some sorts?”She inquired.

Naruto’s body jolted. How did they know it so fast? He swallowed, and nodded slightly.

“Oh, that's it then. From what we know about your mom, I guess you’re holding the Kyuubi?” Momo said.

“How do you guys know this stuff? I just found it out!” Naruto exclaimed, shaking his fists in the air.

“You can’t feel it? Your chakra feels different compared to ours. It’s easy to tell this way.” Suiro frowned.

“He’s a new kid, guys. Remember when Jin joined the camp, before the awakening?” Mifune said to them.

“Oh yeah! He could feel anything either. Or breathe underwater, really.” Fuuka exclaimed.

“His Uzu blood is still dormant. Once it awakens, he will be just like the rest of us.” Fuyuki replied, before turning back to Naruto.

“Would you like to play with us? We found a patch of flower deeper in the woods, so we were planning on go over there and make some flower crowns.”

Naruto tilted his head. He remembered some girls in the academy would do those, but usually the boys didn't care for that. Oh, hell, who cares? They wanted to play with  _ him _ . That was the only thing that mattered.

“Sure! But I have no idea how to do those. Usually you only learn this in the Kunoichi classes -ttebayo.”He said, scratching his head once again.

They started walking towards the woods, still chatting.

“Kunoichi classes? You divide between male and female ninja here?” Shizuku translated to the gesturing Yuriko.

“Yeah, for some stuff. Usually the girls learn about flowers and styles and etc.., while boys have extra sparring lessons.” Naruto replied.

“What bullshit. Isn’t it easier to just learn it all?” Fuuko said, puffing her cheeks.

“I guess it’s because the boys will complain for doing “girly stuff”. Some of the guys in the academy would bully this other one just because his hair was long.. Weaving flowers would send them in a fit.” Naruto mused, rubbing his chin. Most of the others snorted this.

“Pussies.” Shizuku said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I sincerely hope you are not like that, Blondie. Otherwise, will won’t really fit in this place.” Fuuko warned.

“A-ah, it’s okay, you don’t need to worry!” Naruto shook his arms on his front as fast as possible. “I don’t like it either.. Some teachers would scold me for collecting seeds to plant, or collecting flowers.. It was very dumb.”

“Oh? You like planting?” Momo said, turning slightly to him while still walking.

“Yeah! I usually plant seeds I find on the woods, so I don’t have any idea what most of them are, though. There’s Mr. Ukki, who has really green leaves, and Mrs. Bara, who just started to sprout flowers!” Naruto said excitedly.

“Great! When we’re settled down, we can work on a garden together! I always wanted to build a garden!” Momo said back, voice just as excited.

“Then it’s a deal!” Naruto exclaimed, nodding seriously.

They arrived at a camp, full of pretty yellow and white flowers.

“Ohh, Chrysanthemums! They make lovely crowns!” Suiro said, dashing towards the flower camp.

“C’mon, Naruto. I’ll teach how to make the crowns.” Mifune said, pulling him to a patch of the flowers, where they sat down.

Naruto could only watch mesmerized the practiced way the taller boy weaved the flowers, making a big ring with them. He tried his best to pay attention to the pattern the other created.

“Now, you try. Don’t worry about butchering it, okay? It’s normal in the beginning.” Naruto nodded, before putting on a concrentred expression in his face and trying to braid the flowers like the redhead showed him.

And it looked like a total mess. Naruto pouted, crestfallen. Mifune just laughed, patting his head.

“It’s a good first try, really! I’ve seen way worst flower crowns.” Mifune said, still laughing at his pouting face.

“Ookay..” Naruto sighed,slightly cheered up.

“Do you want to try another one?” Mifune asked, tilting his head.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll get it right this ti..” Naruto stopped as Mifune’s head snapped towards the woods.

Surely, a lanky man came out of the woods, dark blue hair and with bags under his eyes so great they were probably paying rent by now.

“Hello kids.” The man spoke, his deep voice a soft, almost whisper-like tone. 

“Hey Iori. Whatcha doing out of Mahina’s claws?” Mifune said, a sassy tone overcoming his voice.

“I’m here to drag the new kid to her lair, of course. Katsura told us to watch over him until she comes back.” The man said tiredly.

“Oh.. Well, rest in pieces, blondie. If you survive intact, we can play another time” Mifune said solemnly, patting Naruto’s shoulder.

“Should I be worried?” Naruto asked, already feeling the anxiety crawling up his spine.

“I mean.. She won’t harm you, but Mahina is kinda.. Unique.” Iori replied.

“What he means is that she is bat-shit crazy, but she’s a good person.” Mifune told him. “I’ll see you later, ‘kay?” Naruto nodded, smiling, before following the tall man out of the woods.

“So.. What’s your name, kid?” Naruto heard Iori’s voice, the tone telling of how much the man was not sleeping.

“I’m Naruto! You’re Iori, right?” He said, tilting his head at the man.

“Yeah.. Shitome Iori, it’s a pleasure.” The man said, a small smile on his lips, before he clammed up for the rest of the trip. Naruto himself didn’t try to start a small talk, feeling pitiful for the sleepy man.

They stopped in front of a weird tent, with tubes of metal smoking on the outsides.

Iori opened the tent, and made space for Naruto to enter first. Naruto stepped inside cautiously. Looking around the insides of it.

The inside of the tent was also cluttered with metal in tables and chairs, and the center, stood a petite woman.

She turned towards them, and Naruto’s only though at this moment was:

“ _ Holy hell, she has a horn _ !”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking so long! Writing for me it's hard, so I tried my best! Please warn me if you find any errors!

**Author's Note:**

> Leave feedback, guys. I love when people give me their opinions and ideas!  
> Also, join me on my Discord Server.  
> https://discord.gg/JMXCj9


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